1. The most important thing to remember is that this game is Not an RPG. In other words, it’s not about making your king a “consistent” character with a “personality”. The only thing that matters is your reputation with the four factions - you need to ensure it doesn’t drop too low, or you will be in trouble. Which in turn means you need to Alternate your decisions to favour the faction with the “current lowest” reputation, at the expense of a faction with higher reputation.

Attempting to compromise usually leads to displeasing everyone instead! Especially if the word “compromise” is explicitly mentioned in the option text...


2. There are 3 difficulty levels:

Normal. - Any reputation penalties are usually 1-point. 2-point penalties are rare.

Story-only. - The name is misleading! You still need to worry about reputation on this difficulty, and it’s similar to Normal in almost every way. However, the options which have a chance of resulting in death will have a skull symbol next to them, making planning Much easier. The skull doesn’t mean that you will necessarily die - just that it is possible.

To the death! - 2-point reputation penalties are more common than on Normal, making it much harder to earn. Death, from the same events, is more likely than on other difficulties, so be careful! Or don’t, as every death has an achievement connected to it...

Fun Fact: Before the patch where difficulty levels were introduced, the current hardest difficulty was the only one available.


3. The chance of death is never 100%! If you succeed in a potentially deadly choice, you can even get a good reward, and it's easy to figure out from the description whether it is worth the risk.

There is also a “Death Bonus” in the game - bonus initiative every turn at the start of the game. The number of turns the Death Bonus will last is equal to the total number of deaths in All playthroughs.

Note: A recent patch has added the option to replay the turn that ended in death - helpful if you don't wish to restart.


4. Reputation works as follows:

10 - The maximum. Chance of a one-time bonus event which will give you a “no strings attached” initiative bonus. You can afford to sacrifice a point or two in favour of a lower-scoring faction.

9-8 - High. You can afford to sacrifice a point or two in favour of a lower-scoring faction.

7-6 - Medium. Not bad, but you might consider raising it.

5-4 - Low. Raise as soon as possible! 5 is also the default reputation you start the game with, for all factions.

3-1 - Alarm bells! Pray to Lumen that you survive this faction’s attempt to assassinate you. On the plus side, every death gives you two things - an achievement and a starting bonus to initiative for the next run.


5. Each event visible on the map is marked with a symbol.
If it is a faction symbol, the optimal way to resolve the event is likely to require high reputation with that faction.
If it is an eye symbol, the optimal way to resolve the event is likely to require a building or a hired person. Visit the King's Hall to build and hire, as well as check what you already have.


6. Events have a chance of re-appearing later if ignored.

1. Initiative is the universal currency in the game, which, perhaps confusingly, acts as both an alternative kind of reputation and money from the treasury.

- You earn it by either taking money “for the royal coffers” or by successfully doing something of your own volition. Some buildings you build via the King’s Hall give you 1 initiative each turn.

- The majority of event outcomes make you spend initiative, at a rate of 1 or 2 per event. When doing something “at the expense of the treasury”, you spend even more! Additionally, most buildings you build via the King’s Hall cost you 1 initiative each turn. All the people you hire also cost 1 initiative a turn, presumably in wages.


2. Try to build 1 building that produces initiative for every 2 buildings or people that cost initiative. Otherwise you would not have enough to build anything on some turns, especially in the second half of each act.


3. Buildings that produce initiative: Forge, Inn, Granary, Bathhouse, Brewery, Bank, Stables. If you have the Masons’ Guild, paved roads and bridge repairs also gain initiative.

You need the Inn to be able to hire the informant and the spy. The bank produces 2 initiative per turn instead of 1!


4. Certain buildings and people are needed for the optimal resolution of some events. Below is the priority order of building the event-affecting buildings that seems to be optimal. Please note they all cost initiative, so you’ll need to alternate them with buildings listed in the previous tip:

a. Physician - needed for the optimal resolution of several events, including one deadly and one providing a free building!

b. Either Orphanage or Mason’s Guild, depending on whether you have sided with the Countess or the Holy Father during the “Butler’s Advice” event. These are expensive, but needed for many events throughout the game.

c. Inn, for hiring the Detective and the Informer, in any order. These are also needed for many events throughout the game and are cheaper.

d. Hospital, Herbalist and Fire Brigade, in any order. The consequences of not having these is not as dramatic as that of the earlier buildings/people in the list, but they are important for Act 2.

e. Engineers’ Guild and Guardhouses, in any order. Not needed until the second half of Act 1, these are quite important for Act 2.

f. Paved roads and bridge repairs, in any order. These require the Mason’s Guild. You will have Significant penalties for not having them in the second half of Act 2. As initiative is harder to earn later on, it’s better to build these in Act 1.

g. Royal Guard and Dalaman Embassy, in that order. Needed by the start of Act 2.

h. Fencing instructor. Siding with General Bardarian will provide him for free. However, he seems to mostly be needed for preventing assassination attempts.


5. The King’s Hall is usually best visited at the end of the turn, when you have earned all the initiative you can for the day.

1. Your very first Throne Room event is going to be Butler’s Advice, with several choices of what to do:

- Invite Countess I’Vinshel. The best option, by far. Gives you the Mason’s Guild for free, which is needed for some important structures later in the game, and the optimal resolution of a common early event.

- Invite Father Lumiel. A good option. Gives you the Orphanage for free, which is needed for the optimal resolution of some later events.

- Invite General Bardarian. A bad option. You can survive without the free fencing trainer he provides, especially if you balance your reputation.

- Go meet the people. A bad option, it’s an unnecessary minus to reputation with the nobles. And while the bonus to the reputation with commoners is large, the commoners can be pleased via more events than any other group.

- Do nothing. Offend everyone. No comment.


2. Another guaranteed early event is Labyrinth to Nowhere. It has the following outcomes:

- Send someone else to explore. The worst option, as it subtracts 2 initiative.

- Explore it yourself. If you succeed, gain 3 initiative. If you fail, die. This is the most common death of them all, and gives you the Ridiculous title. A negative outcome seems relatively unlikely, unless you are playing on the hardest difficulty setting.

- Don’t explore. The safest option, as it has no effects.


3. You also need to know about the Minor Ailment event. Here is what can happen:

- Hope it will pass. If you succeed, lose 2 initiative. If you fail, die. The likelyhood of death is high on this one!

- Summon the herbalist. Lose 1 initiative. Requires hiring the herbalist in the King’s Hall for 10 initiative, which can be done on turn 1.

- Summon the doctor. The best option by far! Not only do you not lose initiative, the doctor will help you get the optimal result for several quests later on. To achieve this outcome, don’t use the King’s Hall on turn 1, so that you have enough initiative to hire the physician on turn 2.


4. If you are lucky, the Looking for a Blacksmith event will appear on the map and give you a free building - no prizes for guessing which one. It’s a two-part event, and you need the physician for the optimal outcome!


5. A scripted event on day 78, On the edge, allows you to end the game prematurely. May be worth doing for the achievement or the “Death Bonus.”


6. Stella Cadence are fraudulent insane bastards! Befriend them for achievements only!